Scottish Government Proposes Neurodiversity Bill
by Lauren Jones
Overview and background
The Scottish Government is taking a step towards inclusivity by proposing a new Learning Disabilities and Autism Neurodiversity (LDAN) Bill. This proposed legislation focuses on a rights-based approach to address the needs and societal barriers faced by those with learning differences and neurodivergent individuals. It is the first of its kind to focus exclusively on neurodiversity, rather than disability rights in general.
The LDAN Bill was officially published on 21st December 2023, and was developed in collaboration with the Lived Experience Advisory Panel, comprised of neurodiverse individuals from the public, as well as Stakeholder and Practitioner Panels. The overarching goal is to promote inclusivity and combat discrimination across various sectors, including health and social care, justice, education, housing, employment, and social support.
One key strategy emphasised across the different sections of the document is mandatory training around neurodiversity and learning differences. While training exists, particularly within the NHS, the focus is on autism or complex learning differences only, rather than covering the broad spectrum of conditions. The aim of new training would be to reduce stigma and misconceptions of neurodiversity through education and information.
Another key strategy is mandating information to be made more accessible across the sectors, through easy-read or alternative formats. Adapted material would allow neurodiverse individuals to be more informed, increasing self-advocacy and enable them to make informed decisions independently.
There are also large sections on health reforms, aiming to address high mortality rates, health disparities, and reduce the risk of suicide among neurodivergent individuals. The LDAN Bill proposes annual health checks, improved access to appointments through online systems, and the removal of learning differences and autism from the classification of 'mental disorders’. Additionally, the bill identifies the lack of data on neurodiversity, so seeks to increase efforts to report and collect evidence, to provide a better understanding of the lived experiences of neurodivergent individuals and to inform future service designs.
Positives of the bill:
Those with lived experience actively contributing to its development, which is a welcomed change to existing legislation that have been developed with little external input.
It includes Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) under the neurodiverse umbrella. This is a frequently overlooked condition, even though it is estimated that around 1 in 7 infants in Scotland are at risk of FASD
Negatives of the bill:
It focuses on neurodiversity as a whole and acknowledges the co-occurrence of conditions, but it may be too simplistic in its proposals. Informing others and accessible formatting addresses only a small amount of the barriers experienced by neurodiverse people.
While training can be helpful, it is unclear what exactly will be included in the training. It is also doubtful whether training will be enough to address institutional ablism, for example, in the police force.
Overall, the bill also feels too general in its proposals. For example, it acknowledges the inaccessibility of healthcare but does not acknowledge the differences in the efficacy of services. For example, talking therapies offered within the NHS may not be as effective for autistic individuals, so alternative or specialist therapies should be explored for true inclusivity in mental health support.
How to get involved:
The consultation period for the LDAN Bill is open until 10pm on 21st April 2024. The LDAN bill is available on the Scottish Government website (link here), and can be read in full, in an easy-read format, audio format, and as a short guide. Each section has questions at the end to facilitate direct responses. You can respond to the consultation through Citizen Space, an online hub, by completing a form via post or email, or sending a video reply via email.
What your organisation can do:
For more information on what the LDAN Bill could mean for your organisation, or how you can better support neurodiverse individuals, contact Welcome Brain using the link here.
Lauren Jones
About the author
Lauren has a Master’s in Psychology and has been supporting and advocating for individuals with disabilities and mental health difficulties in various roles since 2016. This includes several years within universities’ disability services, where she gave practical and emotional support for neurodiverse students, and also created and carried out workshops for staff around autism, ADHD, and specific learning differences. She is passionate about equity and advocating for people with differences to be able to access resources and opportunities to thrive.
